Last Breath
by Goth Albino Angel
Summary: Tumblr Prompt. How would Kyouko's nightmare hallucination have gone had she been the one to wake up to the despair video? Celegiri angst. Prepare yourselves.


**_I do not, in any way, shape, or form, own Dangan Ronpa._**

 ** _Here we are. More Celegiri, more Kyouko, more Future Arc stuff. Don't cry too hard, if you cry at all. And as always, enjoy!_**

* * *

Kyouko gasped as she awoke, glancing in all directions. _Why am I awake?_ She wondered. She knew it was far too soon for her to be awake as she felt like she had just gone to sleep and no one else in the room was stirring. Standing, the detective brushed herself off and glanced around for the supposed attacker. The room that she, Ryota and Kizakura had fallen asleep in was still barricaded and there was no one in sight.

The buzzing of the monitor near her caught Kyouko's attention and she turned her gaze upward. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the sight of Monokuma bouncing onto the screen. Crossing her arms, she listened to the little bear talk for a moment before waving her hand in front of the screen. _Not a camera._ She deduced. _This is a recording._

Looking about the room again, Kyouko lowered her head in understanding as a hand held her chin thoughtfully. _So, whichever one of us is closest to a monitor is the one woken up. But how did any of these people become convinced to be the attacker?_ Turning her gaze back up to Monokuma, the lavender-haired woman was just in time to hear the bear say, "Watch very closely."

A video began to play once he disappeared. Kyouko suddenly felt a very acute chill slide down her spine. _Video._ Her stomach sank as she glanced to the unconscious Mitarai. _After all that talk of wanting to help people through hope. Why would you create this?"_

The colors of the screen drew her attention back and Kyouko couldn't look away. Violet eyes widened as the video continued to play. Shifting colors, dissonant sounds, inverted, monochrome, kaleidoscope… it all swirled before her eyes. Gradually, a thick blackness tugged at the edges of her vision, blanketing her sight. Kyouko was left in the dark, struggling to see.

With a jerk, she found herself… back at Hope's Peak? Staring around, Kyouko found herself back at the old school building. This is how the old school building looked before the Tragedy. The sky was pale blue with wisps of clouds drifting across lazily, far different than the red-tinged sky Kyouko had grown accustomed to. The trees were healthy and lush, nothing like the burnt husks Kyouko remembered when the six survivors had stepped outside of the school for the first time. Everything was the same, but Kyouko wasn't fooled. This time of day, there would be people bustling all over the place, but there was no one in sight.

"Have you forgotten me already, Kyouko?"

That same chill from before hit Kyouko again and she slowly turned. Celestia, in all her gothic beauty, sat at a table nearby, sipping tea idly as her bright red eyes settled on the detective. "Celestia…" Kyouko breathed. One of her greatest failures…

"I see that you're still alive." Celes murmured, setting down her teacup and turning her full attention to Kyouko. "Why?"

"What?" Kyouko noticed the smoke beginning to rise behind Celes as the Lolita stood.

"Why are you still alive, Kyouko?" Celes demanded, walking closer. Kyouko's stomach twisted as bruises appeared and darkened on the beautiful pale skin the closer Celestia came. "Why are you still alive and well? I'm beaten, dead. I thought we were getting out of the school together!"

"You were impatient!" Kyouko shouted, watching the fire spread through all the trees. "You killed before I could find the mastermind. You were found guilty and executed for it!"

"You promised me we would leave together, Kyouko!" Celes shouted, her injuries much more prominent now and the violette shuddered at the sight of an empty eye socket; it must have been lost due to the warped shape of her skull.

"I did promise!" Kyouko retorted. "You acted instinctively."

"You promised we would be together, Kyouko!" Celes' voice warbled as blood dripped from her mouth. The flames had reached the school by now, engulfing the building in an eye-searing blaze. "You promised to stay with me! Why did you lie to me, Kyouko?"

"I didn't!" Lavender eyes wavered as the detective's heart hammered. _This isn't real. This isn't real! Don't let your emotions get out of control!_

"Come join me, Kyouko." Celes' body began to distort, her bones and flesh returning to how they would be after her execution. Kyouko stood her ground; detectives were used to seeing dead bodies. _But even detectives didn't want to see the bodies of their loved ones…_

The mangled brunette stopped in front of the detective and held out a battered hand. "Keep your promise."

Blood trickled along the ground, paralyzing Kyouko as she gasped. The blood covered her body, obstructing her vision, smothering her. She couldn't see, couldn't feel, couldn't _breathe._

A scream tore itself from Kyouko's throat as she slammed herself against the wall, clutching her head, desperately forcing herself to breathe as the images continued battering her mind. Reality and surrealism fought inside of her mind's eye as her more logical train of thought fought to keep the images at bay. The video's effects were strong, however, and were putting up a solid fight to overtake her again. _"Come join me, Kyouko."_ Celestia's hand was waiting, still suspended and waiting for her to join her gothic princess.

A clank off to the side caught Kyouko's attention. A knife had dropped from the monitor and the lavender-haired woman took it in hand. Celes smiled at her, bloodied teeth glinting in the fire from the school.

 _"Keep your promise, Kyouko."_ The Lolita ordered. _"Come join me."_

Lifting the knife, Kyouko plunged the knife into her chest, gasping in agony as the overly sharp blade immediately pierced the skin and set her nerves aflame. The pain helped to bring back a little bit of her clarity, though, and violet eyes widened. _Suicide!_ She thought desperately. _The monitors are forcing suicide. I have to… I have to warn them all…_

Remembering back to the Hope's Peak Killing Game, Kyouko dipped her fingers in her blood and began writing on the wall, thanking Sayaka for this token of wisdom. Her fingers shook as the images played relentlessly in front of her eyes. The flaming school, the crumbling, blackened trees, the beaten, bloodied body of the woman she loved… One hand lifted to force the knife deeper into her chest and Kyouko gritted her teeth, forcing herself to write as much as she could. If she was going to die here, then she was going to make _damn_ sure Aoi and Makoto lived on.

Finally, she sank to her knees, rolling away from the wall and clutching her chest. There wasn't much time left for her. The edges of her vision had already begun darkening in the first signs of unconsciousness.

 _"Won't you come and join me now, Kyouko?"_ Celes whispered, almost sensually, in her ear.

Lavender eyes brightened with the spirals of the brainwashing as Kyouko finally fully succumbed to the effects and her lips tugged up in a wide, manic grin. "Yes." She breathed, both hands grasping the blade hilt and pulling it out. "I'm coming, Celestia." With every bit of strength she could muster, Kyouko used both hands to force the blade back into her heart.

…

A scream reverberated through the halls, catching the attention of several of the building's inhabitants. Makoto hopped on Aoi's back, the pair taking off with Miaya close behind. Racing in the direction the scream had come from, the trio found themselves right back in the room of the second victim. Great Gozu's body had been taken down and was now laid out in the middle of the room, mask still intact.

Over on the other side of the room, they could see two figures standing around something. The shaking figure of Ryota Mitarai was obvious and so was the other as Koichi Kizakura from the hat clutched to his chest. They appeared to be staring at something the newcomers couldn't make out. Aoi hurried over to them first, looking between them. Her hands flew to her mouth as Makoto made his way over, his jaw dropping in disbelief. Kyouko lay before them, a dagger thrust hilt deep in her chest and a dribble of blood leaking from her mouth. There wasn't as much damage done to her as the others they had seen so far, which was a small relief.

Makoto and Aoi fell to their knees beside the body of their friend. "Kyouko…" Aoi whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks. Kyouko never hurt anyone. All she ever did was search for the truth to help others, to help her friends. Makoto felt his heart ache as his eyes filled with tears. Kyouko… she wouldn't hurt anyone. Why was she…? Why did she…? They had survived together, the six of them. They had survived Killing Games in the past, so why couldn't they all survive this one?

Aoi pressed her face into his jacket, sobs wracking her body. This wasn't fair. Kyouko had survived much worse than this. It wasn't _fair!_

"Hey." All heads snapped up at Kizakura's call. "I know this might not make too much better, but I found something over here."

Makoto and Aoi stood, leaving Mitarai with Kyouko's body. Walking to the wall, both noticed something vaguely familiar. "A message in blood." Aoi gave a dry chuckle. "Of course she remembered."

"It says 'Suicide. Videos.'" Makoto murmured. Spotting an arrow, he followed the line to find the monitor above them. "The monitors." He whispered.

"What?" Ryota gasped.

"The monitors!" Makoto stood, staring up at the red eye above them. "The monitors must be playing a video that causes people to commit suicide. Kyouko must have been fighting the affects while she wrote that message, but the video still overtook her. All we have to do is get rid of all of the monitors and everyone will be okay! We can find a way out!"

"Do you even hear yourself?" A voice sneered from the doorway. All gazes snapped to where Sakakura and Munakata were both walking in, one with bandages over his eye. Sakakura smirked over at the group. "There are a ton of monitors in this place. How are you so sure they're even the cause?"

" _Don't_ doubt Kyouko." Aoi snarled, her emotions getting the better of her. "You can fight Makoto all you want, but Kyouko's _never wrong._ "

Sakakura sniffed in contempt, but Munakata's hand on his chest stopped him from moving closer. "She's right," the white-haired man told him. "Kyouko Kirigiri was the Ultimate Detective. Her skills of deduction were unmatched by any other." Turning his good eye to the group, he grasped his sword as his eyes landed on Makoto. His fist tightened as he asked, "You're certain she meant the monitors?"

"They're the only things able to play videos." Makoto responded, setting his jaw in case Munakata still wanted to kill him.

Grip tightening a bit more, Munakata grit his teeth. " _Fine._ " He snapped. "In Kirigiri's memory, I will… I will spare you just this once so that we can get out."

Sakakura glanced to his friend for a moment and Munakata nodded. "The easiest way to turn off the monitors is to turn off the power. Juzo, with me. The rest of you…" His eye fell to the detective's body and he snapped his jaw shut. "I'll leave you to grieve in peace. Take it. It was something I didn't have the luxury of doing."

Makoto nodded and sat back beside Aoi, who had returned to Kyouko's side. The swimmer brushed some of the violet locks back and she gave another dry chuckle. "Funny. It's so nice seeing her without all of that stiffness in her expression, don't you think?"

Makoto glanced back and also gave a wry smile down at his friend, tears filling both their eyes again. "Yeah." He huffed. "Yeah, she looks so peaceful now. Not a care in the world. Probably solving a ton of mysteries in the afterlife now."

"How much do you want to bet that those mysteries were set up by Celes?" Aoi giggled.

Makoto simply shrugged with his own laugh. They could laugh, even as they cried, they could still laugh. Kyouko… even in death, she was still giving them the hope to continue on.

* * *

 ** _Not gonna lie, this made me sad to write. But I gave you a bittersweet ending and, eventually, Juzo is still gonna shut off the power and free everyone from their wristbands. Except he's going to live and marry Kyousuke. So, I hope ya liked this!_ **


End file.
